topic Re: tools changing when I reopen program in FeatureCAM Forum

tools changing when I reopen program

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 14:53:11 GMT

I have been having a serious problem lately. Every time I open a program that I have made and even run on my machines, the tools change that it is using. There is a reason I am picking the tools that I want to use. I don't want the program to keep changing the tools on me to what it might think is a better choice. This is very time consuming and frustrating to say the least. It also keeps creating provisional tools that don't make any sense at all. Example 1; in my Datron tool crib all of my cutters are metric cutters so when I create them I convert them to inch as the machine is set up that way. FeatureCam will inevitably change my 6mm (.2362") end mill to a 1/4" provisional end mill. The other thing it will do always and I do mean always, is when you are cutting an outside contour it will change the cutter to the largest diameter cutter in your tool crib. This is not acceptable when you are doing multiple parts on a single sheet of material. Thank goodness it didn't change my .mf files.

I am using FeatureCam 2020 latest version any fixes would be greatly appreciated.

Re: tools changing when I reopen program

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 05:31:12 GMT

Hello
Kevin, is not the case with me.
see the screenshot.
If you do not just choose the tool,
but also putting the hack in front of it,
do you put it first as a solid tool.
Recognize you are doing it to the star in front of the tool in the process manager.

I hope it solves your question.

Yours sincerely
Mathias Beyer

hallo
Kevin, ist bei mir nicht der Fall.
siehe Screenshot.
Wenn du nicht nur das Werkzeug wählst,
sondern auch den Hacken davor setzt,
legst du es erst als festes Werkzeug fest.
Erkennen tust du es an den Stern vor dem Werkzeug in dem Prozess - Manager.

Ich hoffe es löst deine Frage.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Mathias Beyer

Re: tools changing when I reopen program

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 12:32:54 GMT

Mathias, this is not the case. I well know about putting the check mark in the box. Not only that but in my multiple fixture file it stays correct. The NC programs for both the single part and the multi-fixture parts are correct that were created the day before. So I know that I created the program correctly to start with. Then I come in the next morning to run the simulation for our setup person and all but a couple of tools are changed on the single part program only. Some are tools that aren't even in the crib. It calls them provisional tools and they never have a feed or speed on them and are usually something totally bizarre.

Re: tools changing when I reopen program

kelbie.ockey — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 20:50:28 GMT

Just to confirm, you are 'overriding' the tool selection by checking the box next to the tool, and it is still not respecting it? If so, would you mind attaching the file for me to take a look? That is definitely not what should be happening.

If not, there are a few things to be aware of. First, if no override has been made, FC will always try to find the closest tool on its own. If you switch which toolcrib you are using, tools are likely to change. Second, you mentioned the issue you are running into with the metric/inch conversions. If you are finding this to be a frequent issue for you, I would recommend either splitting the metric and inch tooling into different cribs, or altering the Tool diameter tolerance in the Machining Attributes to be a bit tighter to allow the tool selection you would prefer.

Let me know if you have any questions, or if I've completely missed the mark here.

Re: tools changing when I reopen program

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 06:04:08 GMT

Sorry Kevin, if it was not the right one.

Maybe a new approach.
The project is saved under * .fm.
Further project data is stored under * .fmp.
There could also be a cause.

It is worth considering.

Yours sincerely
Mathias Beyer

Sorry Kevin, wenn es nicht das Passende war.

Vielleicht ein neuer Ansatz.
Das Projekt wird unter *.fm gespeichert.
Weitere Daten zum Projekt werden unter *.fmp gespeichert.
Da könnte auch eine Ursache sein.

Es ist eine Überlegung wert.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Mathias Beyer

Re: tools changing when I reopen program

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 06:10:04 GMT

What did I notice about me?
If I like you make so many adjustments, no matter what kind, I open Featurecam basically with administrator rights.
Since then I have no more bugs.

Maybe also an approach.

Yours sincerely
Mathias Beyer

Was mir auch bei mir aufgefallen ist?
Wenn ich wie du so viele Anpassungen mache, egal welcher Art, öffne ich Featurecam grundsätzlich mit Administrator Rechten.
Seit dem habe ich keine Bugs mehr.

Vielleicht auch ein Ansatz.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Mathias Beyer

Re: tools changing when I reopen program

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 15:26:35 GMT

Kelbie, you may be on the right track. I do have both metric and inch tools, and they are in separate cribs. The problem seems to occur when I have been working on lets say a part for the HAAS, (inch tooling) and I have to switch over to work on something that will be done in the Datron which only accepts metric tooling. It seems to lose which crib it needs to pull from or it will create inch tools in my metric crib. So the question is how can I avoid this happening? Can I change tool cribs before I open a program? I have tried to use two different configurations but without success. It just defaults to the original my configuration. So maybe I am doing something wrong with that I'm not sure.

Re: tools changing when I reopen program

kelbie.ockey — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 16:29:21 GMT

I would be surprised if FC was creating inch tools in a metric tool crib or vice-versa when switching cribs. If that is the case, I'd like to see a video and .fm file to recreate so that I can forward that along to development asap.

What I suspect is happening is that some of your tools are 'locked-in' (the override checkbox is checked on the tools tab of a feature), and some of them aren't. When this happens, changing a tool crib will select new tools from the new crib, let's say metric in this case, while maintaining the 'locked-in' inch tools in your program. These inch tools may appear as though they are a permanent part of your metric tool crib, but that is not the case. As soon as you move on to a new project with no 'locked-in' inch tools, you will see that they will disappear from your metric crib.

If you would like to revert any of these tools to the default metric selections after changing your tool crib, there is an option to undo the tool override (see pic below). Once you select this, FC will revert to the closest metric tool.

Hopefully, this clarifies things somewhat. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Re: tools changing when I reopen program

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 18:11:31 GMT

You led me in the right direction Kolbie. However it wasn't a matter of checking the tool or reverting back to the tool. Turns out it may be something in the settings/options. Under file there is a setting for existing files. You can choose use the tool crib saved with the part or use FeatureCam's tool crib. I believe the tools it is pulling up are from the FeatureCam tool crib. I am changing that to use tool crib saved with part and will let you know how it goes.

Re: tools changing when I reopen program

kelbie.ockey — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 19:51:49 GMT

Ahhh! Great catch! I'm glad it's all sorted out now.

Definitely let me know if you have any other questions.